Strainers for bilge pumps, commonly known as strum boxes, are well known. Their purpose is to prevent debris being drawn from the bilge of a vessel into the bilge pump. Traditionally, bilge pumps have been manually operated although, more recently, water level detectors, typically in the form of float switches, have been provided in the bilge area of a vessel separately from the strum to control the operation of powered bilge pumps. However, the provision of a water level detector increases the complexity of installation since it has to be correctly positioned in the bilge area with respect to the strainer. The water level detector also adds to the cost of the bilge pump system.
It would be desirable to provide a system that overcomes the problems outlined above.